U.S. patent number 4,474,207 [Application Number 06/062,469] was granted by the patent office on 1984-10-02 for pressure regulator.
Invention is credited to Peretz Rosenberg.
United States Patent |
4,474,207 |
Rosenberg |
October 2, 1984 |
Pressure regulator
Abstract
A fluid pressure regulator is described including a movable
regulator member and means biassing same to its fully-open
position, the regulator member being exposed to the outlet pressure
for moving same in the opposite direction and including a
pressure-sensor surface portion which, when the regulator member is
in its fully-open position, engages an inner face of the housing
such as to reduce the effective area of the pressure-sensor
surface. The regulator member is thus retained in its fully-open
position by the biassing means until the actual outlet pressure
exceeds the regulated value by a preselected pressure differential,
at which time the regulator member is moved by the outlet pressure
away from its fully-open position, thereby making effective its
complete pressure-sensor surface to thereafter regulate the outlet
pressure.
Inventors: |
Rosenberg; Peretz (Moshav Beit
Shearim, IL) |
Family
ID: |
11051002 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/062,469 |
Filed: |
July 31, 1979 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
137/505; 137/220;
137/505.28 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G05D
16/10 (20130101); G05D 16/106 (20130101); Y10T
137/3421 (20150401); Y10T 137/7793 (20150401); Y10T
137/7811 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
G05D
16/04 (20060101); G05D 16/10 (20060101); F16K
031/12 () |
Field of
Search: |
;137/219,220,509,505.28 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Weakley; Harold W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Barish; Benjamin J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A fluid pressure regulator including a housing having an inlet
chamber, an outlet chamber, a connecting passageway connecting the
two chambers, a piston fixed with respect to the housing, and a
regulator cylinder movable with respect to said fixed piston and
biassed in one direction to a position fully-opening the passageway
but including a closed end constituting a pressure-sensor surface
exposed to the pressure in the outlet chamber for moving the
regulator cylinder in the opposite direction to restrict the
passageway in response to the outlet pressure, and thereby to
maintain the outlet pressure at a predetermined regulated value,
the space within the cylinder being vented to the atmosphere;
characterized in that said closed end of the regulator cylinder
includes a surface portion which, when the regulator cylinder is in
its fully-open position, engages an inner face of the housing such
as to reduce the effective area of the pressure-sensor surface of
the regulator cylinder by said surface portion, whereby the
regulator cylinder is retained in its fully-open position by the
biassing means until the actual outlet pressure exceeds the
predetermined regulated value by a preselected pressure
differential, at which time the regulator cylinder is moved by the
outlet pressure away from its fully-open position thereby making
effective its complete pressure-sensor surface to thereafter
regulate the outlet pressure.
2. A regulator according to claim 1, wherein the closed end of the
regulator cylinder includes at least one projection constituting
said pressure-sensor surface portion engageable with the inner face
of the housing when the regulator cylinder is in its fully open
position, the open end of the cylinder being effective to restrict
said passageway upon the movement of the cylinder by the outlet
pressure.
3. A regulator according to claim 2, wherein said closed end of the
cylinder is adjacent to the exit end of the outlet chamber and
includes a plurality of spaced projections symmetrically spaced
around the longitudinal axis of the cylinder to permit the fluid to
exit therebetween when the cylinder is in its fully-open
position.
4. A regulator according to claim 2, wherein said fixed piston
includes a stem formed with a bore venting the space within the
cylinder to the atmosphere.
5. A regulator according to claim 2, wherein the inner face of the
housing includes ribs guiding the movement of the cylinder with
respect to the fixed piston.
6. A regulator according to claim 4, wherein the space within the
cylinder is vented to the atmosphere via a bore formed through said
stem and through the housing wall.
7. A regulator according to claim 4, wherein said fixed piston
includes a plug inserted into the housing and formed with a flat
outer face defining a space between it and the inner face of the
housing, the space within the cylinder being vented to the
atmosphere via a bore formed through said stem leading to said
space between the plug and the housing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to pressure regulators, and
particularly to the type commonly used for regulating the flow of a
fluid, e.g., water in an irrigation system, to maintain a
substantially constant outlet pressure.
Fluid pressure regulators generally include a housing having an
inlet chamber, an outlet chamber, a connecting passageway
connecting the two chambers, and a movable regulator member biassed
in one direction to a position fully-opening the passageway but
including a pressure-sensor surface exposed to the pressure in the
outlet chamber for moving the regulator member in the opposite
direction to restrict the passageway in response to the outlet
pressure, and thereby to maintain the outlet pressure at a
predetermined regulated value. Many different constructions are
known, but as a rule the regulator member in the known
constructions begins to move to restrict the passageway before the
outlet pressure reaches the predetermined regulated value. Thus, if
the inlet pressure is below or substantially equal to the desired
regulated outlet pressure, the regulator nevertheless produces a
pressure drop. This is particularly undesirable with respect to low
inlet pressures where the pressure drop across the regulator is to
be minimized.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid pressure
regulator of improved construction which minimizes the pressure
drop across the regulator particularly at low inlet pressures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a broad aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a fluid pressure regulator of the foregoing type but
characterized in that the pressure-sensor surface of the regulator
member includes a surface portion which, when the regulator member
is in its fully-open position, engages an inner surface of the
housing such as to reduce the effective area of the pressure-sensor
surface of the regulator member by said surface portion, whereby
the regulator member is retained in its fully-open position by the
biasing means until the actual outlet pressure exceeds the
predetermined regulated value by a preselected pressure
differential, at which time the regulator member is moved by the
outlet pressure away from its fully-open position thereby making
effective its complete pressure-sensor surface to thereafter
regulate the outlet pressure.
It will thus be seen that for low inlet pressures up to the
predetermined regulated value, there will be a minimum pressure
drop since the regulator member will not begin to move to restrict
the passageway until the actual outlet pressure exceeds the
predetermined regulated value by a predetermined pressure
differential. This pressure differential may be fixed according to
the area of the pressure-sensor surface of the regulator member
which is made inactive in the fully-open position of the regulator
member, i.e. the surface portion which engages the inner face of
the housing so as to reduce the effective area of the
pressure-sensor surface subjected to the outlet pressure. This
surface portion of the regulator member which is thus made inactive
can be produced in a relatively simple manner, e.g., by including
one or more projections on the pressure-sensor surface of the
regulator member which projections are engageable with a flat
surface on the inner face of the housing when the regulator member
is in its fully-open position. It will be appreciated, however,
that the same effect can be produced by providing the projections
on the inner face of the housing to engage a flat pressure-sensor
surface of the regulator member in the fully-open position of the
latter.
Several preferred embodiments of the invention are described below
in which the regulator includes a cylinder and a piston, one of
which is fixed with respect to the housing, and the other of which
constitutes the movable regulator member biassed by a spring in the
direction to fully-open the passageway, the space within the
cylinder being vented to the atmosphere.
In two described embodiments, the cylinder constitutes the movable
regulator member and includes a closed end having at least one
projection constituting said pressure-sensor surface portion
engageable with the inner face of the housing, the open end of the
cylinder being effective to fully-open or to restrict said
passageway upon the movement of the cylinder by the outlet
pressure.
In the second described embodiment, the cylinder is fixed with
respect to the housing, the piston constituting the movable
regulator member and including said projection engageable with the
inner face of the housing when the piston is in its fully-open
position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view (being taken along lines
I--I of FIG. 3) of one form of fluid pressure regulator constructed
in accordance with the invention;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are transverse sectional views, along lines II--II
and III--III, respectively, of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating another form
of fluid pressure regulator constructed in accordance with the
invention;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a modification in the
construction of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view along lines VI--VI of FIG. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The fluid pressure regulator illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 of the
drawings is in the form of a fitting adapted to be attached in-line
to a fluid pressure line. Such pressure regulators are commonly
included in water irrigation supply lines to maintain a
substantially constant inlet pressure to the irrigation devices,
e.g., sprinklers or drippers, and thereby to provide substantially
uniform outputs from all the devices despite fluctuations in the
inlet pressure, differences in the location of the devices in the
line, and differences in the altitude of the devices in the
line.
The pressure regulator illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 comprises a
cylindrical housing, generally designated 2, frictionally-receiving
a conical plug 4 at one end. Plug 4 is formed with a conical bore 6
defining the inlet to the regulator and adapted to be frictionally
connected to the upstream pipe (not shown). The opposite end of
housing 2 is formed with a conical stem 8 having a bore 10
therethrough serving as the outlet of the regulator, stem 8 being
frictionally attachable to the downstream pipe (not shown).
Disposed within housing 2 is an annular ring 12 dividing the
interior of housing 2 into an inlet chamber 14 and an outlet
chamber 16. Annular ring 12 is formed with a diametrically
extending web 18 (see FIG. 3) defining, on opposite sides, two
openings 20, 22 connecting the inlet chamber 14 to the outlet
chamber 16. Annular ring 12 is further formed with an upstanding
stem 24 having a vertical bore 26 communicating at its lower end
with a horizontal bore 28 formed through one-half of the web 18 in
alignment with a bore 30 formed through the housing 2.
Stem 24 receives a sleeve 32 formed at its upper end with a head 34
carrying a sealing-ring 36 engageable with the inner face of a
cylinder 38. Head 34, together with its sealing ring 36,
constitutes a piston cooperable with cylinder 38, the piston being
fixed (via stem 24 and ring 12) with respect to the housing, and
the cylinder (38) being movable with respect to the piston. The
interior of cylinder 38 is vented to the atmosphere via vertical
bore 26 through stem 32, horizontal bore 28 through web 18, and
bore 30 through the housing wall. A coil spring 40 interposed
between end wall 42 of cylinder 38 and piston 34 biasses the
cylinder upwardly, i.e. towards the housing outlet 10 and away from
ring 12.
End wall 42 of cylinder 38 is further formed with three projections
44 which, under the bias of spring 40, are pressed into engagement
with the inner face of housing 2. The end faces of projections 44
are flat so as to firmly abut against the inner face of housing 2.
As shown particularly in FIG. 2, the projections 44 are
symmetrically spaced around the longitudinal axis of cylinder 38 to
provide passages 46 for the flow of the fluid.
In the position of cylinder 38 illustrated in FIG. 1, the lower
face 48 of cylinder 38 is normally spaced, under the bias of spring
40, away from the upper face of the annular ring 12. This is the
fully-open position of cylinder 38, wherein it is biased by spring
40 to provide a maximum cross-sectional area for the fluid to flow
from the inner chamber 14 to the outer chamber 16. The passageway
for this flow of the fluid is constituted by the space between the
upper face of ring 12 and the lower face 48 of cylinder 38.
Countering the force of spring 40 is the force applied to cylinder
38 by the pressure at the outlet 10, which latter force tends to
move cylinder 38 against the bias of spring 40 to restrict the
passageway between the lower face 48 of the cylinder and the upper
face of ring 12, thereby to maintain the outlet pressure at a
predetermined regulated value.
The inner face of housing 2 is preferably formed with ribs 50 (see
FIG. 2) which guide the movement of cylinder 38 with respect to
piston 34 under the influence of the outlet pressure against the
force of spring 40. The lower ends of ribs 50 form abutments
engageable with the upper face of ring 12 which ring is securely
retained within the housing between the ends of the ribs and the
conical plug 4. Preferably, cylinder 38 is also of conical
configuration, being of slightly smaller diameter at the top wall
42 than at the bottom face 48.
The pressure regulator illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 operates as
follows: The fluid introduced at the inlet 6 of the regulator flows
from the inlet chamber 14 through openings 20, 22 of ring 12,
through the annular space between the ring and the lower face 48 of
cylinder 38, through the outlet chamber 16 around cylinder 38, and
through the spaces 46 between the projections 44 to the outlet 10.
Spring 40 biasses cylinder 38 to the position illustrated in FIG.
1, wherein projections 44, formed in the end wall 42 of the
cylinder 38, engage the inner face of housing 2. As indicated
above, this is the fully-open position of the regulator wherein the
passageway between annular ring 12 and the lower face 48 of
cylinder 38 is of maximum cross-section. The force applied by
spring 40 is countered by the outlet pressure applied to the outer
face of cylinder 38, particularly its end wall 42, which force
tends to move the cylinder in the opposite direction, i.e., to
restrict the passageway between the lower face 48 of the cylinder
and the upper face of ring 12.
When the regulator is in its fully-open position as illustrated in
FIG. 1, engagement of the end faces of projections 44 with the
inner face of housing 2 reduces the effective area of the
pressure-sensor surface of cylinder 38 subjected to the outlet
pressure, whereby the cylinder 38 is retained in its fully-open
position by spring 40 until the actual outlet pressure exceeds the
predetermined regulator value by a preselected pressure
differential. This pressure differential is dependent upon the area
of the end faces of projections 44 relative to the total
pressure-sensor surface of cylinder 38. When the cylinder 38 is
conical as illustrated in FIG. 1, the total pressure-sensor surface
subject to the outlet pressure would be the area of the maximum
diameter portion of the cylinder, i.e., its lower face 48.
As soon as the preselected presure differential has been exceeded,
cylinder 38 is moved by the outlet pressure away from its
fully-open position, i.e., in the direction bringing the lower face
48 of cylinder 38 closer to the upper face of ring 12. When the end
faces of projections 44 move away from the inner face of housing 2,
the surface area of the projection end faces becomes subjected to
the outlet pressure, thereby making the complete pressure-sensor
surface, including this area, effective to thereafter regulate the
outlet pressure.
It will thus be seen that the cylinder remains in its fully-open
position until the actual outlet pressure exceeds the regulated
value, thereby minimizing the pressure drop at low inlet
pressures.
FIG. 4 illustrates a variation, wherein the movable regulator
member is a piston movable in a cylinder which is fixed with
respect to the housing, rather than vice versa as in the
above-described FIGS. 1-3 embodiment.
Thus, the housing in FIG. 4, therein generally designated 102,
includes a fluid inlet 104 leading into an inlet chamber 105, a
fluid outlet 106 leading from an outlet chamber 107, and a
passageway 108 interconnecting the two chambers together, the
passageway being defined by an internal annular shoulder 110.
Housing 102 is formed with a cylindrical extension 112 closed by a
plug 114. A piston 116 is disposed within cylindrical extension 112
and is biassed towards plug 114 by a spring 118 interposed between
piston 116 and another plug 120 received in the lower end of
cylindrical housing extension 112.
Piston 116 is carried at one end of a stem 122. This stem passes
through plug 120 and carries, at its opposite end, a valve member
124 movable towards and away from passageway 108 to vary the
cross-sectional area thereof, and thereby to control the flow of
the fluid therethrough from inlet 104 to outlet 106. The chamber
126 defined by the plug 120 and the lower face of piston 116 is
vented to the atmosphere via a bore 128 formed through cylindrical
housing section 112. The chamber 130 defined by the upper face of
piston 116 and the lower face of plug 114 communicates with the
pressure at the outlet 106 via a longitudinal bore 132 formed
through piston 116 and its stem 122, and a transverse bore 134
formed through the lower end of the stem. The upper face of piston
116 is provided with a projecting surface 136 which is engageable,
under the influence of spring 118, with the inner face of plug
114.
It will thus be seen that piston 116, including its stem 122 and
flow control member 124, corresponds to the movable cylindrical
regulator member 38 in the FIGS. 1-4 embodiment. Thus, the piston
is biassed to fully-open the passageway 108 by spring 118 but
includes a pressure-sensor surface (namely the complete upper
surface of piston 116 facing plug 114) which is exposed (via bores
132, 134) to the pressure in the outlet chamber 106 for moving the
flow control member 124 in the direction to restrict the passageway
108 in response to the outlet pressure. Projection 136 in the upper
face of piston 116 constitutes the pressure-sensor surface portion
which is inactive in moving the piston until the outlet pressure
exceeds the predetermined regulated value by a preselected pressure
differential. Thus, the projecting surface 136 may also take the
form of separately-spaced projections, similar to projections 44
formed in the movable cylinder 38 of FIG. 1. However, since this
projecting surface 136 is not in the path of the flow of the fluid
to the outlet, as it is in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the
projecting surface 136 may be of continuous annular configuration
having a flat face engageable with the flat inner face of plug 114.
The latter plug constitutes part of the housing 102, and the
cylindrical extension 112 of housing 102 constitutes a fixed
cylinder within which piston 116 moves.
The regulator illustrated in FIG. 4 thus operates basically in the
same manner as described above with respect to FIGS. 1-3, except
that in FIG. 4 the piston 116 moves and the cylinder 112 is fixed
with respect to the housing 102, whereas the opposite is true in
FIGS. 1-3. Thus, when the inlet pressure in the regulator of FIG. 4
is below the predetermined regulated value, spring 118 urges piston
116 against the inner face of housing plug 114, so that the flat
surface of the annular projection 136 becomes inactive in
influencing the movement of the piston, and only its inner surface
within the annular projection 136 is subjected to the outlet
pressure transmitted thereto via bores 134 and 132. The piston 116,
together with the flow control member 124 carried thereby via the
stem 122, will therefore remain in the fully-open position with
respect to passageway 108 until the actual outlet pressure exceeds
the predetermined regulated value by a preselected pressure
differential, at which time piston 116 will move away from housing
plug 114. As soon as this occurs, the flat surface of projection
ring 136, having moved away from the inner face of the housing plug
114, becomes subjected to the outlet pressure to that the complete
upper face of piston 116 thereafter becomes effective to move the
flow control member 124 with respect to passageway 108, and thereby
to regulate the outlet pressure.
FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a modification to the construction of
FIGS. 1-3. To facilitate a comparison corresponding parts carry the
same reference numerals but with a "prime" mark. Thus, the plug 4'
is formed integrally with the annular ring 12', and is further
formed with a flattened face 13 extending from the horizontal bore
28' to the bottom of housing 2'. The latter is formed with a
plurality of circumferentially-spaced short ribs 15 engagable with
a flange 15' at the lower end of plug 4', to define a venting
passageway 13' from bore 28' to the exterior of the housing 2'. In
addition, a tapered connector 6' is frictionally fitted into the
end of plug 4' for connection to the upstream pipe (not shown). The
construction of the fluid pressure regulator illustrated in FIGS. 5
and 6 is otherwise the same as described above with reference to
FIGS. 1-3.
While the invention has been described with respect to two
preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that these are
described purely for purposes of example, and that the invention
may take other forms. For example, instead of using a
piston-cylinder arrangement for effecting the regulation, the
regulator member may be in the form of a diaphragm. Many other
variations, modifications and applications of the invention will be
apparent.
* * * * *